Toilet seat lifter



1957 L. R. MILLER TOILET SEAT LIFTER Filed Sept. 16, 1955 INVENTOR. LEON R.MIL.LEQ

ATTOENEYS United States Patent TOILET SEAT LIFTER Leon Richard Miller, Hot Springs, Ark.

Application September 16, 1955, Serial No. 534,691

3 Claims. (Cl. 4-251) This invention relates to an improved pedal operated lifter for toilet seats, and among important objects of the invention is:

To provide a simpler and more efficient device of this kind which can be easily and quickly attached without modification of the toilet bowl and seat structure, which does not interfere with use of the seat and is inconspicuous, and which can be made in an attractive and serviceable form at relatively low cost.

Other objects will appear from the following description, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a toilet equipped with a seat lifter according to the present invention, the lifter and seat being shown in full lines in its normal, lowered position and in dotted lines in a raised position;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of Figure 1.;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view, on an enlarged scale, on line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the lifter per se.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the reference numeral generally designates a toilet bowl, over whose upper end is hinged an assembly 11 including a seat 12 and a lid 12', the seat swinging on a hinge pin 13, and the lid hinging on the hinge pin 13, secured on the upper end of the bowl 10. In its open position said assembly rests against the front of the associated flush tank 14.

The lifter, generally designated 18, comprises a seat clamp comprising a flat plate 21 underlying the toilet seat 12 adjacent the hinge pin 13, at one side of the toilet seat (see Figure 2). The plate 21 at its inner edge has an inner upwardly turned, lip 22 curved correspondingly to and bearing against the inner periphery of the toilet seat, and has on its outer edge an outer upstanding lip 24 leaning against the outer periphery of the toilet seat. Set screws 26 traverse the outer lip 24 and have wing nuts 27 thereon adapted to be manually turned home against the toilet seat, thus to securely engage the clamp 20 on the seat 12.

On the outer edge of the plate 21 is a rearwardly angulated plate portion 21' having a rear free edge formed with hinge barrels 28 (Figure 4) disposed obliquely to the lengths of the lips 22, 24, as shown in Figures 2 and 4.

A cam bar 30 of elongated, flat formation has a downwardly beveled front edge 31 and a hinge barrel 32 on its rear edge, fitting between and alignable coaxially with the hinge barrels 28. A'hinge pin 34 is extended through the barrels 28 and 32, thus connecting the cam bar 30 to the clamp 20 for relative swinging movement of the cam bar 30 about an axis paralleling and spaced forwardly from the hinge pin 13 of the toilet seat (see Figure 2).

Welded or otherwise fixedly secured to the outer longitudinal edge 31 of the cam bar 30 is a forwardly declining depending elongated lever 36 having a twisted lower 2,776,440 Patented Jan. 8, 1957 end 36' merging into the rear end of a forwardly projecting pedal arm 38 having on its free forward end a widened part the upper surface of which is roughened to provide a foot pedal.

The lever 36 is disposed alongside of the toilet bowl 10, and when the lever 36 is swung downwardly and rearwardly by pressure upon the foot pedal 39 to the dotted line position shown in Figure 1, the beveled edge 31 of the cam bar 30 exerts a downward pressure upon the upper end of the toilet bowl 10 and makes a fulcrum contact therewith. As a result, the rear end 31' of the bar 30 rises and causes the toilet seat 12 to swing upwardly and rearwardly to the rearwardly inclined dotted line position shown on Figure 1.

The seat 12 is retained in its rearwardly inclined position by its being past the center of the hinge pin 13 and the hinge pin 28, and rests against the flush tank 14. The seat 12 is lowered by hand in the usual manner, or by pulling forwardly with a foot on the roughened top surface of the pedal 39.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor changes in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a toilet bowl having an upper end, a toilet seat having a rear end, first horizontal hinge means hinging the rear end of the seat on the upper end of the bowl, said seat having outer and inner peripheries, a clamp secured to one side of said seat near its rear end and forwardly of said hinge means, a forwardly and rearwardly elongated cam bar having forward and rear ends, second horizontal hinge means hinging the rear end of the cam bar to said clamp, the cam bar being positioned between the upper end of the toilet bowl and the seat, a depending lever having an upper end fixed to said cam bar and a lower end, and a forwardly projecting pedal arm fixed on the lower end of said lever, said pedal arm having a forward end having a pedal thereon.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said seat has an underside and said clamp comprises a plate engaged with the underside of the seat, said plate having an inner edge having an upstanding inner lip engaged with the inner periphery of the seat and an outer end having an upstanding outer lip, a clamping screw on said outer lip bearing against the outer periphery of the seat.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said seat has an underside and said clamp comprises a plate engaged with the underside of the seat, said plate having an inner edge having a upstanding inner lip engaged with inner periphery of the seat and an outer end having an upstanding outer lip, a clamping screw on said outer lip bearing against the outer periphery of the seat, said plate having a rearwardly angulated plate portion having a rear edge, said second hinge means comprising a hinge barrel on the rear edge of said plate portion parallel to the axis of said first hinge means, a hinge barrel on the rear edge of the cam bar in line with the first mentioned hinge barrel, and another hinge pin traversing said hinge barrels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 481,498 Kremelberg Aug. 23, 1892 1,053,688 Willcox Feb. 18, 1913 2,723,400 Wilson Nov. 15, 1955 

